by Griff Hosker
As the lights were doused I walked back to my quarters with my wife and my brothers. I thought back to that day when King Urien had met my father and thought of the events which followed. What I was not to know was that the tumble of stones had not finished. There were still more twists and turns to come.
The next morning we had little to do until the king spoke to the troops at noon. I had the chance to play with my son. I say play but it involved me making ridiculous noises and pulling faces at which he and the two nursemaids giggled. When it was time for Aideen to feed him I joined my brothers outside the Principia.
“How is the arm Aelle?”
“It itches but the Brothers tell me that is normal and even more strangely, it feels as though it is still there.”
“You are still young brother and you will learn how to use your left hand and, remember what the king said, your days of fighting are over. Now you lead your warriors.”
“But you, brother, you are in the front rank in every battle. Raibeart and I have the security of your warriors between us and the enemy. It is rare for us to be in danger.”
I shrugged, “It is my destiny and I never feel in danger.”
The king appeared. He was mounted, armoured and armed. Bladud carried the dragon standard and the two Brothers had a wagon on which was a box. Prince Ywain brought in the warriors who filled what had been the Roman parade ground and they stood in silence.
“Men of Rheged. We have triumphed! We have defeated the Saxons.” There was huge roar. “But the war is not over. I have sent messages to the other kings, Rhydderch the Generous, Morcant Bulc and Gwalliog of Elmet for we need an alliance to drive the enemy hence.” There was another huge roar. “In the meantime return to your homes, father more warriors and be ready for the next phase and if you pass by Brother Osric you will all be given pennies of the realm to thank you for your bravery.” This time the roar was even louder and they queued patiently; few had ever seen a coin let alone handle one.
I drew Ywain to the side. “King Gwalliog of Elmet?”
“Aye my father heard that he was keen for an alliance and over the winter he sent a letter to him. He is a powerful lord and his lands in the south are beset by the same Saxons and Angles who trouble us.”
“And yet he persists in allying with that snake Morcant Bulc.”
“He is well thought of and he has powerful fortresses and armies. We need him. Like you I do not like him but we need him.”
The men had departed and we were talking supplies and repairs with Brother Osric when there was a noise from the gate. When we emerged from the gloom we saw a column of men. The leader looked to be a chief or a king and there was a young woman with him. King Urien and Ywain hurried over to greet them. As we arrived the king turned to us and said, “And these, King Gwalliog are my Wolf Brethren; the three brothers who have been instrumental in defeating the Saxons. “
King Gwalliog was a short and squat man, about the same age as King Urien but he greeted me like a brother and clasped my arm. “I have heard of you Lord Lann. Already they make songs about you and how you defeat champion after champion. It is said that there is a price on your head of a thousand crowns.”
“It seems a large price for such a small head.”
He laughed and waved a hand at the pretty girl next to him. “And this is my daughter Maiwen. I left her brothers guarding my lands but she has a mind to travel and said she wished to see the famous Roman Wall.”
Kling Urien beamed. “In that case she should meet with Lord Raibeart here. He has a fort on the wall itself and I am sure he would show your daughter around while we discuss our alliance.”
When I turned I saw that Raibeart was blushing and looking awkward and that Maiwen, too, seemed much taken with him. Aideen appeared quietly at my shoulder. “I think husband that your last brother has now been smitten.” At first I knew not what she meant and then I saw the looks between my brother and the princess and I did.
King Gwalliog sent his bodyguard along with Ywain’s to escort my brother and the Princess Maiwen on a tour of the wall. It would not do to lose a princess of an ally. The king’s arrival meant that our departure was delayed although Aelle begged permission to travel south to see his wife and child. It was only sanctioned when he promised to allow Brother Aidan and my warriors to escort him. There could still be Saxons in the south and I did not want to lose my brother to raiding barbarians.
Although I was pleased to see my wife and child I was too much the warrior to enjoy watching her feeding him or listen to his gurgling. When he was old enough to stand and I could teach him to be a warrior then I would wish to be with him each moment of the day. Aideen was wise, “Go and talk with the men, Ywain, Gildas. Just get your glum face from under my feet.” To show she meant nothing by her words she kissed me on the lips, making the nursemaids giggle.
I found Ywain wandering over to his father’s quarters. “You look lost, Lann. Come with me, for my father is discussing the alliance with King Gwalliog and your views would be most welcome.”
The two kings were poring over Brother Osric’s map. Brother Osric, as ever looking like a wise bird was watching them. “Ah Lann, Ywain. The king was just telling me of the Saxons here.” He pointed to the land just south of the Roman fortress. “They are threatening his borders what would you think of a campaign there in the autumn to rid both our borders of the enemy?”
I scrutinised the map. Brother Osric had taught me how to read a map. I could make out some of the words but they mattered not. “With our northern borders safe and secure,” I grinned at Ywain. “I think it would be a risk worth taking.”
King Gwalliog said, “I had hoped to make a match with Maiwen and your son,” as Urien held up his hands Gwalliog continued, “I do not blame you but now I need a marriage to forge an alliance and King Morcant Bulc has no sons of an age yet.”
Suddenly Brother Osric coughed and said, “I believe that your daughter has chosen an alliance herself.” King Gwalliog looked confused and Brother Osric continued, “The Queen mentioned it to me. Raibeart Lord of Banna and she appeared to be, well, as interested in him as he did in her.”
King Urien beamed. “That is a splendid idea. You could not wish for a better son in law than Raibeart. He is one of the two best warriors in the land.”
Enlightenment dawned and the hint of a smile appeared. “He is a doughty lord with lands?”
“He is lord of the wall and a better warrior you could not wish to meet.”
“Hm. And a dowry? Elmet is a poor kingdom compared with Rheged. We have no palace as fine as this.”
They both looked at me and I suddenly realised that, as the head of the family, it was my decision which would determine Raibeart’s fate. Until the previous day a dowry meant a father sent a daughter to a new husband with clothes upon her back. A dowry meant nothing to me. I bowed. “We would be honoured to be married into your family without any dowry, your majesty.”
Behind me I heard Ywain mutter, “You are the honey tongued diplomat today.”
King Gwalliog smiled, “Good then it is settled,” he leaned into me and said, “I have plenty of daughters but your brother has the pick of the litter!”
I did not think his daughter would approve of being compared with a dog but I smiled. “Now that that is settled, you were saying about the campaign Lord Lann.”
“We would not need the whole army. We could leave your bodyguard here and just use Prince Ywain’s men. With Lord Raibeart commanding the archers and slinger, Aelle and his men protecting the land of the lakes then I think we could join with King Gwalliog’s men and drive the Saxons hence.”
“You have a sound general here King Urien. I would hang on to him. “
“Don’t worry I shall.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent in sorting out the details. The country south of Stanwyck was unknown to me. The king explained where the roads ran and where he had his forces. I did not say so at the time but he appeared to have a smaller
and less well organised army than we did but so long as they fought better than Morcant Bulc’s men then I would be happy.
When Ywain’s mother heard the news of Raibeart and Maiwen she became busy and organised. “We can have the wedding on the same day as Ywain’s; unless you object, your majesty?”
The Queen was a force of nature and it would have taken a strong man to defy her. “No, but the couple do not yet know of our decision.”
She waved away his objection, “They know well enough. Any man with eyes to see could tell that. I will speak with them when they arrive.”She glared at the two kings. “You two will probably make it sound like a military strategy.”
I smiled it was good to see an old married man like the King receiving the same treatment as I did from my wife. Queen Niamh was as good as her word and as the party returned from their visit she approached them. They dismounted and we saw her speak but could not discern the words. It did not look like a conversation for only the Queen spoke. When we saw the couple nod and hold hands then we knew that my brother would be married and related to a king. I closed my eyes and listened for the voices. I heard my parents tell me that I had fulfilled my oath; I had taken care of my brothers.
The next month passed in a blur. We returned to my castle when Garth and my men returned to make sure it was in a good state of repair. Brother Oswald had organised the locals and it was better than when we had left. He seemed more than happy to be my cleric. We would need a garrison while we campaigned in the autumn and I let Garth and Brother Oswald deal with that. Now that we had arms, armour and coins we could pay our farmers to be warriors too and Garth, who was one of them, was perfect for that role. The Queen had insisted that our wives stay in Civitas Carvetiorum while we campaigned and I could see, from King Urien’s face that he wished he was campaigning with us rather than being stuck in a castle with three women but he was always a kind king and he was resigned to his fate.
Aelle and his wife came to the fort for the wedding. He looked much stronger now and wore a leather sleeve over his stump. It had been designed by Brother Aidan who told us that Aelle might be able to use his stump with training. It did not matter to Aelle and Freja, who was pregnant again. They would be together now and there would be no more campaigning for Aelle. He would be a ruler of peace and the war would be left to Raibeart and me. As the feast celebrated long into the night and I watched the three kings, Urien, Gwalliog and Rhydderch drinking and telling tales of the old days I reflected that my life was as near to perfection as it was possible. I loved my life, I had a good family who understood what I had to do and, most importantly, my men respected me as a war leader they would follow to hell and beyond. The only hint of displeasure was the knowledge that Bladud still lived and still harboured a grudge. As everyone smiled and laughed, his evil face glowered across the room. Had I know what was to come I would have walked over and killed him there and then but that was not my destiny. Wyrd had something else planned for me.
The End
Coming in Summer 2013- Part 2 Saxon Revenge
Glossary
Characters in italics are fictional
Name
Explanation
Adair
Despatch rider
Aelfere
Northallerton
Aella
King of Deira
Aelle
Monca’s son
Aidan
Priest from Metcauld
Alavna
Maryport
Ambrosius
Headman at Brocavum
Artorius
King Arthur
Banna
Birdoswald
Belatu-Cadros
God of war
Bladud
Urien’s standard bearer
Blatobulgium
Birrens (Scotland)
Brocavum
Brougham
Civitas Carvetiorum
Carlisle
Cynfarch Oer
Descendant of Coel Hen (King Cole)
Din Guardi
Bamburgh Castle
Dunum
River Tees
Dux Britannica
The Roman British leader after the Romans left (King Arthur)
Erecura
Goddess of the earth
Fanum Cocidii
Bewcastle
Freja
Saxon captive
Gildas
Urien’s nephew
Glanibanta
Ambleside
Hen Ogledd
Northern England and Southern Scotland
Hogan
Father of Lann and Raibeart
Icaunus
River god
King Gwalliog
King of Elmet
Lann
A young Brythonic warrior (Lann means sword in Celtic)
Maiwen
The daughter of the King of Elmet
Metcauld
Lindisfarne
Monca
An escaped Briton and mother of Aelle
Morcant Bulc
King of Bryneich (Northumberland)
Niamh
Queen of Rheged
Osric
Irish priest
Oswald
Priest at Castle perilous
Pasgen
Youngest son of Urien
Radha
Mother of Lann and Raibeart
Raibeart
Lann’s brother
Rhiwallon
Son of Urien
Rhun
Son of Urien
Rhydderch Hael
The king of Strathclyde
Sucellos
God of love and time
Tuanthal
Slinger and later warrior
Urien Rheged
King of Rheged
Vindonnus
God of hunting
Wide Water
Windermere
Wyrd
Fate
Ywain Rheged
Eldest son of Urien
Historical Note
All the kings named and used in this book were real figures. Most of the information comes from the Welsh writers who were used to create the Arthurian legends. It was of course, The Dark Ages, and, although historians now dispute this, the lack of hard evidence is a boon to a writer of fiction. Ida, who was either a lord or a king, was ousted from Lindisfarne by the alliance of the three kings. King Urien was deemed to be the greatest Brythionic king of this period.
While researching I discovered that 30-35 was considered old age in this period. The kings obviously lived longer but that meant that a fifteen year old would be considered a fighting man. If the brothers appear young then I suspect it is because most of the armies would have been made up of the younger men without ties.
The Angles and the Saxons did invade towards the end of the Roman occupation and afterwards. There appear to be a number of reasons for this: firstly the sea levels rose in their land inundating it and secondly there were a series of plagues in Central Europe. This caused a mass movement towards the rich and peaceful lands of Britannia. Their invasion was also prefaced by the last Roman leaders using Saxon mercenaries to fight the barbarians to the north and the west. At the same the time the Irish and the Scots took advantage of the departure of the Romans and engaged in slave raids and cattle raids. It was not a good time to live in the borders. Carlisle, by all accounts, was a rich fortress and had baths and fine buildings. It exceeded York at this period. Rheged stretched all the way from Strathclyde down to what is now northern Lancashire. Northumbria did not exist but it grew from two Saxon kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira and eventually became the most powerful kingdom until the rise of Alfred’s Wessex. Who knows what might have happened had Rheged survived?
I do not subscribe to Brian Sykes’ theory that the Saxons merely assimilated into the existing people. One only has to look at the place names and listen to the language of the north and north western part of England. You can stil
l hear anomalies. Perhaps that is because I come from the north but all of my reading leads me to believe that the Anglo-Saxons were intent upon conquest. The Norse were different and they did assimilate but the Saxons were fighting for their lives and it did not pay to be kind.
I mainly used two books to research the material. The first was the excellent Michael Wood’s book “In Search of the Dark Ages” and the second was “The Middle Ages” Edited by Robert Fossier. In addition I searched on line for more obscure information. All the place names are accurate, as far as I know and I have researched the names of the characters. My apologies if I have made a mistake.
The story will continue as the Saxons, inexorably, take over what was Britannia and make it, what would become England.
Griff Hosker March 2013
Other books by
Griff Hosker
If you enjoyed reading this book then why not read another one by the author?
The Sword of Cartimandua Series (Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 128 A.D.)
Ulpius Felix- Roman Warrior
Book 1 The Sword of Cartimandua
Book 2 The Horse Warriors
Book 3 Invasion Caledonia
Book 4 Roman Retreat
Book 5 Revolt of the Red Witch
Book 6 Druid’s Gold
Book 7 Trajan’s Hunters
Book 8 The Last Frontier
Book 9 Hero of Rome
Book 10 Roman Hawk
Book 11 Roman Treachery
They are all available in the Kindle format.
The Aelfraed Series (Britain and Byzantium 1050 A.D.- 1085 A.D.)